Saluda delinquent water bill customers will have a little more breathing room as city council extended its water/sewer policy to give two more weeks before cutting off service.

Saluda City Council met Monday, Dec. 9 and unanimously approved changing the water cutoff date from the 11^th of the next month to the 25^th of the next month.

Outgoing commissioner George Sweet led the discussion, saying the city had several expressions of concern about the length of time between when a customer receives their water bill and when service is cut off.

Saluda changed its water cutoff policy in August after complaints regarding delinquent water bills. The new policy approved in August said all accounts with a past due balance would be disconnected 15 days after the account becomes past due. Water bills in Saluda are due on the 25^th of the month, with disconnection notices going out shortly after the month’s billing cycle (10 days). The disconnection was taking place five days after the date of the disconnect letter. The city also changed its reconnection fee from $25 to $100 in August.

Sweet said bills are sent on the fourth of the month for the previous month’s consumption and on the 25^th of the month, or three weeks later, bills are due. If the bills are not paid on the due date there is a late penalty posted on the bill and if they’re still not paid by the fourth of the next month (30 days after the initial bill) they get a disconnect notice, Sweet said. Then a week later they are cut off, making the total cutoff cycle 37 days.

“We did that because we were having lots of conversation about bills that haven’t been paid,” Sweet said.

Sweet added that with about $4,000 total delinquent for a three-year accumulation, it’s really not a big problem.

“Nevertheless, some people, particularly renters, under the old system had like 90 days before they got cut off and used a lot of water,” Sweet said. “I think we shortened it a little much. I’d like to see the disconnect on the 25^th of the next month so you have a month from when the bill is due.”

The rest of council agreed to push the cutoff date until the 25^th of the month. Council members said they’d like to try the new policy for two to three months.

Saluda offers an automatic draft program that allows customers three days of the month to have their bill amount taken directly from their checking account. Customers who enroll in the program receive a bill in the mail so they can monitor consumption and have a record of payment.

Anyone with questions about their bill, or how to enroll in the automatic draft program should contact Saluda City Hall at 828-749-2581.